In celebration of SA women’s day.
Written by Nez, Posted in My Thoughts, Comments: leave another one
Have you ever been restricted from movement?. Like a person telling you that you can only go here and here but not there?. Do you see how children get frustrated when you put them in a naughty corner?.
Well, Monday was a public holiday because last Sunday, South Africa was celebrating a women’s day. In remembrance of the day when women said enough with the laws that restrict our freedom.
The 50ties were the darkest years for African people in South Africa. Apartheid was at its highest peak. Laws were passed time and again by the government of that time so to ensure that a black child is subjected to poverty and does not get access to anything that empowers him or her as a human being.
It was in these years that pass laws were imposed. The pass law was used to control influx of black people in towns. African women were not allowed to live in towns unless they had permission to be employed there.
This system was very painful for an African woman because it was making it difficult for unemployed women to join their husbands who were working in towns. Imagine the pain of having to raise the kids alone not to mention the longing the kids had for their fathers. The family units were separated.
The situation for African women became increasingly arduous when land lost its fertility and the economy deteriorated. Women became dependent upon men earnings.
Passes deprived women of the basic right to live with their husbands and to raise their children in a stable family.
August 9, 1956, marks one of the most historic events in struggle for freedom in S.A. 20,000 women of all racial groups marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to deliver petitions in protest against passes.
The day was a turning point of the role women play in non racial and non sexist South Africa. It also showed that women could not be silenced when subjected to unjust laws. Men were shocked that day to see women acting so bold.
Today we are grateful for the women of 1956 who stood for the rights of all women. Their efforts are noticed today. No one is forced to farm on the land that has lost its fertility. We all buying genetically modified food from supermarkets (not all food). The depth of our pockets determines where one want to stay. Men are not shocked (though they get shocked at times) by women boldness in the boardrooms. It all sounds light and funny but someone fought hard to the point of losing their lives to get all these things that seems small yet huge.
Today women’s day represents a symbol of resilience of women of all racial groups. It is a celebration of a strength of a women.
TODAY IT FEELS GOOD TO BE AN AFRICAN.
Take care,
Nez